Page 153 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

They had their lunch on the balcony again, and Layla hadn’t shown any interest in her surroundings as she usually did.

“Now? You’re going now?” she asked as she stood, too.

“I have some pack business I can’t ignore anymore.”

“Okay,” Layla said.

Her tone suggested she was sad, but he couldn’t feel it.

“Be safe out there,” she added, and then she seemed to hesitate before she came forward and put her arms around him.

Her soft body melded against his, and the contact soothed him. Maybe her mother was right. All he had to do was tell her the truth. She could help him figure everything out before he died. As his mate, she would have nothing but the best intentions for him. He allowed hope to fill his heart for a moment, something he hadn’t had since the day he’d been cursed.

Layla would be his redemption. She would make his last days worth living.

“If this is how you’ll say goodbye to me when I go back to work, then I should have gone back sooner,” he teased as he put his arms around her.

He sensed her emotions again. Layla was still stuck so deep in them that he didn’t want to leave her. But if he left things as they were when he returned to the city, his pack would believe he had truly abandoned them.

“I’ll be back, Layla. Stay here and wait for me, okay?” he whispered.

Layla nodded against his chest, and then he let her go. He wasn’t prepared to see the tears on her face.

“Talk to me, Layla,” he whispered as he used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Let me in so I can help you.”

Never in his life had he thought he would say those words. A mate was the last thing he had wanted, yet this felt as natural as breathing. To want to soothe and reassure his mate. To need to take her pain so all she felt was happiness. If Dylan knew about this, he would be the first to tease him.

Thinking about his friend made him step back and look at Layla’s face.

“We’ll talk tonight,” he promised.

Away from all this shit. Away from all the Dylans and Ambers. His hotel was on neutral ground, and it was full of humans. Even rogues didn’t dare start any shit there, so Layla would be safe while they figured things out.

He dropped a quick kiss on her lips, and it felt like they had been doing that their whole lives. Despite everything, Layla was his little piece of heaven- a gift given to him before he left the world. He would make everything right for her so they could live out their days in peace.

Especially since she was carrying his child.

He looked down at her stomach. It would be a few more days until he could sense it, but he knew.

When he left the room, he turned the lock and waited for her usual reaction, but there was nothing. He would fix it.

‘Alpha, I’m in the car,’ Dylan said through the mind link.

With a sigh, he walked down the hallway and the steps. Some Omega women were in the lobby; they scurried away when they saw him. Out of everyone in the pack, the ones he lived with should have known that he would never hurt a woman like that.

A small part of him wanted to explain, but the bigger part of him, the asshole part, wanted to let them suffer from their thoughts and assumptions as he used to do before.

He ignored them and walked outside. Micah sat in the front with Dylan, and he assumed some warriors had already gone ahead to make sure the way was clear and to protect him if things went sour with Chase. The Alpha hadn’t been pleased when he had seen how easily Kendrick had lost his life in his hands.

“I requested that the meeting take place inside so you’re safer,” Dylan said as he started the car and started driving. “We don’t have the numbers to sustain an ambush unless we can control how many of them can access us at any one time. His office has two exits, so we will pick that room. Our warriors will be in the woods just outside it.”

Maybe Dylan had been doing the Alpha duties, after all. He nodded and looked out of the window as they approached the packhouse gates and then drove through the town.

The place was usually a hive of activities. If there was one thing his pack knew how to do, it was to live well. But there was hardly anyone out, and many shop doors remained closed.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Most people think a war is coming, Alpha,” Micah replied. “They keep to their homes unless it’s necessary.”

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